Andrew Hung releases new EP Rave Cave 2, speaks to Best Fit about the concept of control

Hung - one half of Fuck Buttons with Benjamin John Power (Blanck Mass) - has already released one instalment of Rave Cave for free.

Talking about the project, which has been described as being about "letting go of control or expectations or anything thought-based", Hung explains the notions of control and the future and details a "recalibration of [his] character".

Rave Cave 2 is techno-hued and infused with dubby synths, chiptune quirks, and noise-pop shards, but it's also rammed with massive questions about humanity: "Anything anyone has ever done is connected to everything anyone will ever do. The blueprint for a greater, more socially and ecologically balanced society exists. The technology to fulfil this plan exists. What are we waiting for?"

Stream the transcendental EP below, and then see what Hung has to say about it after.

What is the aim of Rave Cave?

Rave Cave is an emphasis on fun. Music's been quite stuffy for me of late and Rave Cave became an outlet for larking about. The first EP was about formulating a process and now that I've got that down, I've got much more freedom and space to explore.

What's the best way to approach it as a listener?

My personal experience of the music is that it works well in quite a few contexts. I usually test tracks by going for drives or listening to the music whilst taking the dog for a walk but recently, I've found that people who have come to my shows have been bouncing off the walls to it. That's been very encouraging and dare I say it, confirming.

You've spoken about the individual not necessarily being in control of much - how much control did you have over this music?

We are all so used to owning things, it's so ingrained into us that we believe we own ideas. It's inherently impossible to own information; that's a quandary of the modern technological age and the dominant ideology - i.e. the religion of the individual. For example, I might say that I made all that music, but what about all the artists that I've heard throughout my life, all the artists each of those artists heard throughout their lives, the guy who made my computer, the guy who came up with the idea for computers, the guy who first made a wheel or electricity etc. etc.? They all contributed to my patterns of taste. We're all connected and to say that we own the ideas that pop into our heads is nonsensical.

Control is an interesting concept in this context. The more I progress on this journey, the more I'm convinced that to gain control one needs to let go of control.

There seem to be some huge ideas behind this EP, in terms of causality and connectedness and fate and individuality - yet the music feels intimate, like it's bound for packed clubs and sweaty tents. How do the two elements relate?

Everything we make or do or think is our ego, which is basically just a collection of associations. However, consciousness transcends all that, you can try it now, just listen to your thoughts and your breathing, check out how your body feels. Nothing before or after this moment defines the moment; that's consciousness. Consciousness is the macro, ego is the micro. The power of music is when it forces our egos to let go and just experience the moment. That's our true state, of being. So actually sweaty clubs and dancing all night, they are forms of accessing that being or reality. Dancing is meditation.
I feel like we need a spiritual revolution at the moment along with a practical revolution. I'm addicted to (over) thinking and thus I'm quite an anxious person, but I know that my perceptions and projections don't define me, so i'm working on training my ego to let go. I feel like a lot of us are addicted to thinking so we need to shed those shackles.

Your project seems to be in total contrast to that of Blanck Mass, aesthetically and emotionally. It seems that both projects are coming from very different places - is Rave Cave something you needed to work on before getting together as Fuck Buttons again?

Difficult question, but one thing I know for certain is that Fuck Buttons can't provide me with all the space that I want to explore; it's a collaboration and thus inherently a compromise. Beautiful things have come out of that collaboration, don't get me wrong, but i've got other ideas I want to explore.
I'm not sure whether I needed to do Rave Cave before another Fuck Buttons record, but I know that I'm feeling pretty good about the next FBs record.

What are you expecting from 2016? Do you have any plans so far?

Well shit's getting real now; my only plan is to fight for humanity. That sounds so pretentious, but it's better than fighting for a career.

Rave Cave 2 is out now as a free download. You can also download the first EP for free on Bandcamp.